HTC Droid Incredible Review

So guys, I've taken the plunge. I bought an HTC Droid Incredible on eBay and am extremely happy and content with my purchase. This phone is nothing short of its name; it really is INCREDIBLE. Here's a short review for you guys. BTW yes, it's rooted :)

Verizon's HTC Droid Incredible follows the candy bar design brought in by Apple's iPhone. It's very minimalistic in the front design of the phone. The only button on the front of the Incredible is the optical joystick. There are 4 touch sensitive "buttons" on the front of the phone as well, symbolizing home, menu, back, and search respectively. They are very responsive contrary to many other HTC touch android devices (nexus one). The power/lock button is on the top left of the device, next to a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The volume rockers are on the left side of the device, as well as the micro usb charging port. There are no other physical buttons.

On the back of the phone is HTC's self described "race-car" design. Raised bumps on the back cover give it the look of a edged race-car. Some people like it, others don't. I would have preferred a straight back to be honest.

It sports an 8 mega-pixel camera with dual led flash and with its latest firmware update (2.2) it can record 720p video. It has an AMOLED screen with 480x800 WVGA resolution. It sports qualcomms incredibly fast snapdragon processor which clocks in at 1ghz speeds. Of course, it can be over-clocked to 1.5 ghz ;). On normal clocked speeds, the Incredible can achieve quadrant scores between 1300-1375, while over-clocked to 1.5 ghz it can achieve between 1700-1900 scores.

The Incredible currently supports the latest Google Android build (2.2) Froyo. It gained mobile hotspot support, as well as an updated HTC Sense UI. It also supports Adobe Flash 10.95.1, something other Smartphone manufacturers have failed to allow (Apple, i'm talking to you). HTC's Sense UI gives the phone much more functionality by adding HTC specific applications and add-ons. HTC skins, Peep (HTC's own twitter client), and the addition of Scenes are just some examples. There are over 50 HTC specific widgets which help enhance the Android experience. Android itself has a pretty high learning curve, but HTC simplifies it greatly. Like all other android phones, the Incredible has access to the Android marketplace, which gives it access to over 40,000 applications.

It comes with a 1300 mph battery, one you probably don't want to use. I ended up getting a 1700 mph battery to help last me an entire day, but even still that doesn't happen. Then again, I use my phone on a constant basis so its not the phones fault. All smartphones are plagued with bad battery life. It is preloaded with 8 gigabytes of flash memory, which is amazing, and also has support for up to 32 gigabytes more with the micro SD expansion slot.

It has all the redundant wireless connections which make it pointless for me to say but I might as well say anyway. It has WIFI support right out the box, GPS, Bluetooth, and Verizon's 3G on EVDO1x and Rev1 bands. Running on Verizon's CDMA network gives the Incredible an advantage over many other android phones. Verizon has an excellent network with a wide coverage market. It's 3G speeds are comparable to that of it's main competitor AT&T's own 3G speeds, but still lags a little behind AT&T speeds. Where it loses in speed, however, it makes up for with actual signal.

Overall the HTC Droid Incredible is an amazing phone. It's fast, responsive, versatile, and has a beautiful screen. The minimalistic design makes it an incredibly desirable phone. Call quality on Verizon's network is flawless and access to Android's ever expanding and evolving marketplace makes it a viable opponent against other Smartphones like the Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy S line of phones, and Blackberries. However, poor battery life and no front facing camera puts the phone a little behind the curve. The race-car design is etchy and HTC should have included an option for either that or a completely flat back. The display, one of its biggest proponents, also hinders it. Making it almost unbearable using it outside in sunlight. Anti glare protectors should help solve this issue though.

One Click Root Method for Droid Eris

http://www.xda-developers.com/android/1-click-eris-root-app-no-pc-required/

Lately guys it seems that all the "rad" methods of rooting and jailbreaking have fallen onto one-click options. Sure that makes it simpler for the common user, but I sorta miss having to go through the struggle of installing stuff, running command code, and feeling boss while doing it. :sigh: Oh well. Here's a new method for rooting the Droid Eris. It utilizes some exploits found by jcase and eclips3 from the xda-developers forums. These guys are always making new milestones for these devices. Well watch the vid, subscribe, and hit the like button there.

Oh and maybe I should let you guys know, thanks for all the views on my froyo video. See, I made youtube individual partner status for that video. Thanks so much guys and hopefully this one gets the same response!

4.0 Jailbreak for iPod Touch and iPhone (Universal)

Universal Jailbreak for iPod Touch and iPhone on 4.0

Go to jailbreakme.com on your iDevice and jailbreak away :)

Peel?

There's this new device that just recently received FCC clearance. Its a small package from Sprint called the Peel, and what this nifty little device can do is turn your iPod Touch into an iPhone. Well sorta. See, it uses Sprints own 3G network, albeit the slower kind, and routs it to a device that can snuggly fit into the casing. The space seems oddly reminiscant of, lets say, apple's own top notch media player. If you catch my drift. Even having the headphone jack on the bottom right. It can also tether internet to up to 5 different devices. So far it has its own battery, charging via mini usb, although no word yet if it charges the device. Earlier a Chinese variant was released which charged the device and was made specifically for the iPod Touch. Still not sure here though. Hopefully more news of this comes out soon, because I already tether my Android phone to my iPod Touch, and if this comes out, it's bye bye Verizon for good.

**News and image courtesy of engadget**

KaosFroyo

First off, i'd like to apologize for a very late blog post. I've been working full shifts at my job and its been taking a toll on me. So without further adeu, lets begin with my first Rom review.

I've had my rooted Eris for about 2 weeks now. In my course I've downloaded and installed about 4 roms. Out of the 4, I have to say, the one with the LEAST problems was KaosFroyo vs 23 and 24. KaosFroyo takes the Cyanogenmod 6.0 which runs a ported version of Froyo 2.2 and runs it on the HTC Droid Eris. Overall performance of the rom was very smooth. SetCPU worked nicely in overclocking the processor to 710 mhz safely. Screen scrolling was smooth. Applications ran well. I saw limited FC's in using many of the stock apps, although I did have issues with the Gallery 3D app, although that reason is for the hardware. Using it along with ATK is your best bet, killing background apps that just cause clutter. Live wallpapers work, but only a limited few. Some things that don't work are wireless tethering (the main reason im not using it anymore) and the camera preview on the main camera app. You can use CameraMagic to bypass that if you insist on needing the preview, although you dont necessarily need it. I found video recording to be extremely choppy though, but I didn't use that too much.

All in all it's a good rom, with good stability and good upgrade timing. I was using v 23 at the time and as soon as I was almost done it updated to v24 and left me with it longer because it was so good. I mainly don't use this anymore because wireless tethering isn't working at the moment, which is something I use for my iPod Touch (shhh don't judge). Next time I'm going to review the Evil Eris rom or the Aloysius rom. I'll figure it out. This week i'm working full time again so my update might take a while. Until next time, take care!

Iphone 4 fail report

Its funny how you lose respect for a company when they try to half ass themselves out of a situation by pointing fingers at others. And that my friends is what Apple pretty much did today in their press event. Pretty much they said:

"Hey metrosexual iPhone users who drive a Prius or BMW and look like Ross from friends, were not perfect, but these lower end phones that can hardly compare to our phone are just as bad as ours are in terms of signal strength, so heres an iPhone 4 bumper so you can please stfu about our fail and leave us alone now. kthnxbai?"

Seriously Apple? You have the audacity to compare your product to the Samsung Omnia 2 (people actually bought that phone?) and the HTC Droid Eris? Both btw are VERIZON phones, who's favorite catchphrase isn't "hello, are you still there" like it is for iPhones, but "can you hear me now? Good :]". Sorry for the bash but come on, at least take responsibility and admit that you screwed up the algorithms in your design. Its the least you can do at most, considering you released a new phones that is ALREADY behind the curve. Come on, ever since the release of the Nexus One, EVERY android phone that went against an iPhone during CNet's prize fight has always defeated the iPhone. Even the iPhone 4 lost the HTC Evo 4G.

However, at least they gave users the option to get a full refund of their phone or a free bumper. Which is what they should have done in the beginning of the press release. I could hardly give a flying **** about the sales or the comparison in dropped calls with the 3GS or your excuses or your finger pointing. All I was interested in hearing was how you planned on fixing this issue. Come one Apple. Next time don't half-ass a product just because it looks pretty. Please?

Discrepancies?

It seems that every few months software updates are coming out for phones and new features are being added all the time. This was made more apparent with the release of the Iphone and widespread knowledge of new versions of Iphone OS and its new features. Android, a similar smartphone platform also debuts new versions of its Android OS every so often, however I find it to have great discrepancies based on the actual device and the service provider. This is somewhere where I would say the Iphone beats Android devices.

See, when Apple releases a firmware update, it goes through to AT&T and then its pushed to the devices via iTunes updates. Because the Iphone is locked to AT&T, firmware updates need to only go through one round of testing with the service provider, meaning a much quicker update sent to the actual phones. Android phones on the other hand are on every service provider and come from a number of handheld manufacturers. Not only does Google have to send out its updated firmware to the handheld manufacturers, but it also needs to get approved by the service providers as well. Usually it isn't that big of a deal, since many of the higher end phones receive much greater priority and therefor get updates passed quicker through testing. However, as a user of a lower-end Android phones I see that phones like the Droid Eris, the HTC Hero, and the Mytouch 3G and G1 all get overlooked when it comes to software upgrades. Android 2.0 itself was released when the Motorola Droid was released November 6th, and the Droid Eris was released the same day with Android 1.5. It took until April for 2.1 to be pushed to phones for an OTA update. The Droid itself is already on firmware 2.1, with news of 2.2 being pushed on it sometimes in the next month. Why are there so many discrepancies with Android phones, that upgrades need to be sent directly to the Service provider for approval and editing before it allows for them to be transferred to the phones? This nonsense makes Android weaker to the Iphone in my opinion.

The flexibility to choose a phone on any service provider is great, but the options of firmware and software updates makes Android lacking in the performance market. I believe that if Google wants to topple Apple's grip over the smartphone market something needs to be done to ensure that all of their current handhelds have the same software version.

Droid Eris Leaked Root

While root for the Droid Eris had already been out for quite some time, Leaked Eris users who flashed the leaked 2.1 firmwares were...for better terms....left out. Leaked users were unable to gain root access to their phones due to changes in the radio, which prohibited them from downgrading or even upgrading to official firmware. However, a method for rooting the leaked firmwares of the Droid Eris was unleashed. With this it would seem that users who had leaked could gain root access and so therefor "flash their brains out". Everything seemed fine and dandy at first, but after reading the instruction the difficulty level for root rose tremendously. Only if you've already had extensive knowledge with these devices could you understand what it was that you needed to do to gain root. For many user (including myself) it seemed like the only thing to do was to upgrade to an Incredible.

However, on July 13th Leaked users received a blessing. User wag3slav3 from the xda-developers forums was able to write scripts that enabled novice android users to root their leaked phones. You don't know how happy that made me. Using his fool-proof guide (many edits later) I was finally able to root my Leaked Droid Eris. What did I do immediately following? I flashed KaosFroyo v21 to my phone. And I have to say, I can't believe it took me this long to get this type of access to my phone. And i'm happy that I finally got it. I jumped up and down like a little boy in a candy store. Note it was 2 AM when I finally rooted so my family members were in shock to wake up and hear me galavanting in joy. I've had almost a whole day with KaosFroyo and I just updated to v22, after a few more days I will start posting reviews for roms that are released at xda-developers. Hoping to make the main emphasis and focus of this blog based on Android.

The afformentioned link to the forum post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=724741

Microsoft Courier

So, I saw this video, and I just fell in love. Comparing the Ipad to the Courier to me is a no brainer. The Courier has a much broader demographic and I can actually see myself using this for more than web browsing. Ipad, i'm sorry. Thanks for engadget for this demonstration!

Root for the Droid Eris

So, WE FINALLY HAVE ROOT STATUS!!!!!!

This means the Droid Eris now has the unlocked potential to run applications as admin, just as you would when using root on a linux computer. So what can we do with this? Run a 2.1 ROM that hasn't been totally supported by verizon!! So i finally have my 2.1 on my Eris. I'm so happy <3

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=617203 for more info!

So?

I am now typing this using my Windows PC. Yes, I un-installed OSX and re-installed Windows. Well Windows XP, but it's okay. i'll stick with this flavor for now, as long as I can play my steam games :)

Droid Eris 2.1?

So, rumors have been going around, mainly around androidforums, where it originated, and now flooding xda-developers. Android 2.1 with udpated Sense UI is supposedly going to be released on the Droid Eris for Verizon, and SUPPOSEDLY someone has already recieved the update. Kinda. His phone just doesn't work. Meh -_-

I want Android 2.1 SO BAD! Like seriously, if I don't get google maps navigation, I will shoot someone -_-

ANDROID!!! I LOVE YOUUUUU (FANBOY)

Moved back

I'd just like to make a general announcement and say I made the move back to OSX. I have a 13 inch macbook pro as my personal computer, and when I got it I immediately loaded it with Windows XP. When windows 7 was releasing, I removed XP and installed Snow Leopard since I got a free upgrade. I liked it, but really wanted to try Windows 7. I had windows 7 for about 3 months, and now I've decided to delete the partition and make the computer a fully based OSX machine. Maybe i'll keep it this way, who knows.

What is Android? part one

The Android OS is an open source operating system created by Android inc, and later purchased by Google, for mobile phones. Android OS is different, in that it is completely Open Source and a variety of phones have the potential to run the system. It runs on a linux kernal, meaning anyone can take the android source code and make any type of modifications to it. This makes Android truly remarkable and unique in granting users the potential to take full control of their devices.

Android has recently taken a new tier in the SmartPhone race, sharing a rivalry with the top Smart Phone OS' of our time; Windows Mobile, and IPhone OS. While Windows Mobile is featured heavily on many business smart phones, IPhone OS is featured solely on the Apple Branded IPhone. While I may be getting off topic, it's interesting to note that although the IPhone OS runs only on one device, while Windows Mobile and Android runs on many other devices, it hasn't slowed or stopped IPhone smart phone dominance, which has been going on since its release in 2007.

Android periodically features system upgrades, taking similarity in the naming from its Linux ancestry, Google names each release of the system after a dessert. 1.5 being the oldest system run on any phones is codenamed Cupcake, with 1.6 called donut, and 2.0 called Eclair. With the release of the Nexus One a new Android OS, 2.1 was released and while sources call it Flan, it is still considered under the Eclair name for lack of significant change(I still call it Flan).

The latest release of Android, 2.1 featured only as of right now on the Nexus One is actually one of the best OS releases on any SmartPhone, minus of course the physical keyboard which still make the Droid a viable option against the Nexus One. 2.0 featured a complete revamp of the Android Operating system, showing a vast array of new features for the platform, such as better microsoft exchange support, a browser with html 5 support, compatibility with better hardware such as more ram and a faster cpu, and the introduction of free Google Maps turn by turn direction.

Being an operating system supported heavily by Google, and of course running almost all of Google java engine programs, this system uses, if not takes advantage of many google applications.

To Start off, you need a Google Account when you purchase your Android Phone, it will not activate unless you input your credentials for your Google Account. It automatically syncs your gmail and on the web browser any blogger/picasa/google-docs/ and calender automatically sync with your phone. Another interesting note is that it syncs your contacts list from your Google account to the phone as well. A service like this can only be seen on one other device, the Apple IPhone, in which if you have a mobile me account, everything from there including your calenders, mail, and contacts list automatically syncs with your phone and offers PUSH service. The difference between using Mobile Me for the IPhone and Google Apps for the Android is the cost. Google Apps is free, while Mobile Me costs $99.99.

I'll get more in detail about using Google Apps, as well as other applications and uses of the Android Device on the next part of "What is Android". Thanks for reading =]

HTC Droid Eris and Android in General

Okay so a few weeks ago, Mid December, I bought myself the HTC Droid Eris for Verizon Wireless as per my every two year upgrade. The HTC Droid Eris comes with Android 1.5 firmware, and comes packed with HTC's Sense UI skin built over the Android OS. And that right there, is the one reason why I disliked the Eris. Sense UI is cool because there are different widgets available and you can have up to 7 customizable home screens. That's cool, I agree, but the reason that I wanted an Android device was not for the skins and all the home screens that you can customize on the Eris, but I don't want that. I want the look and feel of the Android system. I prefer the menu layout on the Android OS rather than the way the Sense UI has it. It just feels right to me.

Another reason why I dislike having a skin over my OS, is that unless that skin has been updated to match the upgraded OS, there won't be a firmware upgrade to the phone. Right now the highest Android OS on the market is 2.1 with the Nexus One, and no one is saying that the Eris can handle the upgrade because I know there are certain hardware limitations, but I would like to have at least Android 2.0 like the Motorola Droid. The Droid has a much better and cleaner interface I must say. I was truly awestruck at the features the 2.0 firmware brought out, such as Google Maps turn by turn navigation. I also really liked the lock-screen interface on the Droid, allowing you to swipe left for silence mode and then swipe right for unlocking. I just like the 2.0 firmware as it brings out more of the phones potential.

Android marketplace is nothing like the Iphones appstore. There aren't nearly as many apps on the Android marketplace that are a must have like there is for the App Store on the Iphone. When I had an IPhone and an Ipod Touch, I found myself with 5-6 pages of apps downloaded from the App Store, which ranged from games to apps for productivity and social networking. More companies are making applications for the App Store, such as Aol, which made their own AIM app for the app store but have yet to make one for the Android platform, with user relying on 3rd part apps for access. That's one thing however, that the Android Marketplace has over the App Store. The supreme censorship that Apple maintains over the App Store, not allowing apps into the App Store for the most mundane of reasons, sometimes not even elaborating as to why they haven't allowed it access, coughcough google voice coughcough, is not on the Android marketplace. Pretty much any application that a user makes that can change anything on the phone with complete access to most functionality on the phone can be downloaded via the marketplace.

I have applications that allow me to change the functionality of my phone, like the homescreens, one app to control the ringers, one app to control the web browsing experience, another app to change phone calls. You can have applications that take place over the stock apps such as another application for sending sms and mms, another applications to browse the web, and another applications to place phone calls. Android is an open platform, not like the IPhone. I think this is why I love the Android OS more than the IPhone. Its more open source, and the possibilities of the applications are endless.